Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. Since our last show, the NBA has worked themselves through Free Agency and we have seen some expected moves, some surprising moves and some questionable moves. Devonte Graham to replace Lonzo? Really? Anyway, we’ll have all next season to dissect the decisions that were made last week by the front offices. This week we’re going to focus on the young players in the NBA. Every year, except for last season, the Las Vegas Summer League is an opportunity for the rookies and younger players on every team to showcase their skills and fight for a place on next season’s roster. We’ve seen some pretty spectacular performances and with only a few games left to play, we have a pretty good idea what 5 young players we can look forward to during the next NBA season. Get ready for your All-NBA Team of the Week, Summer League edition.
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is Aaron Nesmith of the Boston Celtics. Nesmith was a rookie in the NBA last season, coming off the bench for the Celtics and turning himself into an important part of the Celtics’ second unit. In the Playoff series against the Nets, Nesmith averaged 15 minutes a game, but wasn’t able to contribute a lot, much like the rest of the Boston team. Jayson Tatum had to carry his team on his own against the Nets’ superstars. But during the regular season, Nesmith did prove to be an important part of Boston’s future, where he can grow alongside Tatum and Jaylen Brown. He averaged almost 5 points and 3 rebounds in about 14 minutes a game.
Nesmith and Payton Pritchard, another rookie last season, are the focal point for the Celtics in this year’s Summer League. Every edition there are a few players going into their second year in the league, that are too strong for the competition and that really shouldn’t have been here. Usually, these players play on good teams and don’t have much opportunity to prove themselves on the big stage. Another one that comes to mind off the top of my head, here in the Summer League, is Tyrese Maxey of the Sixers. These guys don’t have the time to develop slowly, because they are on “win-now” teams and if they don’t contribute, they don’t play. Playing in Summer League for these guys is a treat because now THEY are the stars on their teams.
For Aaron Nesmith, the Summer League is the perfect lead-up to training camp and the start of next season. I can imagine that Tatum will want some rest, especially during the first few weeks, after a busy season and difficult Olympics run. And Nesmith is the perfect back-up for the young star. We should see his minutes total go up, and he’ll get more scoring opportunities. This week, he’s been averaging over 18 points a game and 6 rebounds a game, in only 25 minutes a game. If he can take that productivity to the NBA next season, the Celtics will have a deeper team than what people are expecting now.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons. Cade was the number 1 pick in the 2021 draft, held last month, and this is the first time that the wider public gets to see his abilities. Cade will only turn 20 next month but he has been one of the biggest NBA-prospects for years. He was part of the US team that won gold at the Greece 2019 World Championship for Under 19’s. That team included names like Tyrese Haliburton, Kira Lewis Jr, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs and Ziaire Williams. Plenty of talent, but it was Cade that led everyone in scoring in the final against Mali. Since then, NBA teams have been waiting for Cade to declare for the NBA draft. The Pistons were the lucky ones who ended up with the number 1 pick.
Not everyone’s first choice but Cade was very quick to tell the world that he would be happy to wear that Pistons jersey if he was picked first. And that is exactly what he is showing us this Summer League. In his first 3 games for the Pistons, Cade is averaging over 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in less than 30 minutes per game. Especially in his game against the Knicks, he showed the world why he was this year’s number 1 pick. He finished with 24 points, shooting 7 threes from only 10 attempts. And it is not like these were open shots, with Cunningham being double teamed for most of the tournament so far. This potential superstar is going to be targeted by teams throughout the whole season but I believe that he will rise to the occasion.
And that brings us to the next season. It is still a big question mark what Detroit will be able to bring to the floor in the upcoming season. Jerami Grant is a great player and they had a good draft last season, picking Saddiq Bey, Saben Lee and Killian Hayes last year. Adding Cade Cunningham and some good veterans like Kelly Olynyk and Corey Joseph, hopefully the Pistons can put up a competitive team on the floor and fight for those Play-In game positions. But to aim higher, they will have to surround Cade with more talent because Grant alone will not cut it.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizz traded themselves into the 30th pick of the 2020 draft to be able to draft Bane. In hindsight, that was an incredible move and one of the steals of last year’s draft. Bane was very important for Memphis last season, as a knockdown shooter. He shot over 43% from deep on at least 4 attempts per game, putting him among the best 15 shooters in the league last season. Not bad for a rookie. In fact, he led all rookies in the league in 3-point percentage and made the All-Rookie second team.
The Grizzlies are banking on their young core as they search for the pieces to go alongside Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. It seems like Bane will definitely be one of those pieces. Even though he is only 23, on this Summer League roster, he is one of the more experienced players. His task is to run the offence, get buckets and teach the rookies the grit and grind basketball they play in Memphis. He led the way against Brooklyn, finishing that game with 32 points, shooting 6 3’s from 8 attempts. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Bane’s biggest problem going into next season is that the Grizzlies have plenty of options on the wings. Last season Grayson Allen was the number 1 option next to Ja Morant, but he has been traded to Milwaukee. That should mean that Bane can move up in the rotation and get that starter role. But with De’Anthony Melton, John Konchar and rookies Ziaire Williams and Sam Merrill the competition in Memphis is tough. If you can move players like Justise Winslow and Eric Bledsoe along, you know you have plenty of talent on the books. The Grizzlies have a very strong, young core and should be a great league pass team for years to come.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks. Quickley was drafted last season with the 25th pick and probably the biggest revelation of all the rookies. Alongside Derrick Rose, he ran the Knick’s second unit and played a big part in the surprisingly good season New York had. He averaged 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists a game, all in about 20 minutes. He wasn’t quite good enough to take on a role as a starter, and he’ll possibly need another season before getting there, but he has definitely proven to be a huge asset for Knicks moving forward. I know it will be nearly impossible, but if the Knicks can be patient, they’ll have a young, strong core to build around with Quickley, Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett and new rookie Quentin Grimes. It’s been a while but I am actually excited about the Knick’s future.
In true Knicks fashion, their players at Summer League have been leading everyone in minutes played. Toppin and Quickley sit at the top of the list and Grimes follows in fifth spot. Their coach for this Summer League edition, Dice Yoshimoto, has been part of head coach Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff since the Chicago days. And it is clear that he has been watching and learning ever since. Obviously, it is important that the young players get familiar with the team’s style of play, but this is almost like watching Thib’s Japanese version sitting on the sidelines, only more quiet. And it’s been working. The Knicks will be able to look back on a positive Summer League, with some good wins and fantastic performances of their second year players.
Looking forward to next season, Quickley will have another year to focus on getting better while fighting for a spot on the second unit. With the signings of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, that will most likely seal the starter roles, in rotation with RJ. But the Knicks roster is incredibly deep at the guard position. They have gone from no guards to too many guards, especially young ones. But by releasing Frank Ntilikina, you can tell that the front office has a plan. But will they stick to it once Damian Lillard becomes available? Only time will tell. In the meantime, Knicks fans can look forward to another year of battling for Playoffs positions, because the Knicks didn’t get worse in the offseason, so far. And that is a win in itself.
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets. Jalen’s name will be forever connected to Cade Cunningham, just like Luka Doncic and Trae Young are connected and Kobe and Iverson are connected through the same draft class. Jalen Green was the second pick of the last draft and ended up in Houston. The Rockets were left in disarray after James Harden left, but right now, their outlook seems quite positive with a bunch of young, exciting players on their roster and a young head coach, Stephen Silas, who is finally ready to show the NBA that he IS a good coach. A chance he never had last season.
Houston came to the Summer League to show off their rookies and Jalen Green in particular. And he did, in 3 games he averaged over 20 points per game, including shooting over 50% from deep, he grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 2 assists per game. He also won the head-to-head with Cade when the Rockets played the Pistons earlier in the week, the Rockets won the game and Jalen scored 5 more points than Cade. Jalen is flanked at Summer League by 2 exciting European prospects, Usman Garuba and Alperen Sengun. And Kenyon Martin Jr already showed us last year that he has a bright future in the NBA too.
The bad news for the Rockets is that Jalen had to leave Summer League early with a hamstring injury. Hopefully it’s not too bad and he’ll make the start of the season. The last thing we want, after a post-season Playoffs full of injuries, is another great player side-lined for a long period of time. Let’s assume that all goes well and he’ll be back. Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr together should set off fireworks, and flanked by savvy veterans like DJ Augustin and John Wall, and a quality big like Christian Wood, this team could cause some upsets during the season. I’m sure they’ll be in the mix for those Play-In games in the West, and if they’re not they’ll have 2 chances to draft another star next to Jalen.
This is our All-NBA team of the Week. Please share our podcast and give us 5 stars. If you have any questions, you can contact the show on eight2fouroffice@gmail.com. Thank you for listening, ballers out!
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